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Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences 46 (2012) 2611 – 2614 1877-0428 © 2012 Published by Elsevier Ltd. Selection and/or peer review under responsibility of Prof. Dr. Hüseyin Uzunboylu doi:10.1016/j.sbspro.2012.05.533 WCES 2012 The professional identity of primary and secondary school music teachers in Greece Reppa P.G. a *, Gournelou P. b a PhD canditate, Orlof, Athens, 11741,Greece b Music teachet, Agrinio, Greece Abstract The particular dissertation concerns the profile delineation of Primary and Secondary School Music Teachers in Greece, as well as the determination of their professional identity. The first part initially presents in a concise way the teaching profession and in particular the profession of the teacher of Music. Then, the meaning of professional identity is defined and various aspects of this identity are presented. Subsequently, the status of Music as a school subject is pointed out, as well as the prestige of the Music Teacher in general education schools and especially in Music Schools. Special mention is made to the institution of Music Schools. Among other things, the categories of Music teachers employed in Music Schools are recorded, as well as their occupational status quo, the specific problems which they face in education practice juxtaposed to the other Music Teachers of General Educational Schools. In the second part, the empirical research is presented in detail, which aims at the determination of programs contribute to their further development, is followed by the opinions of Music Teachers-which were sought from questionnaires regarding the occupational status quo, and foremost the education process and the role of the subject of music in contemporary Greek education. The methodology of research is the quantitative mainly investigation and inquiring tool the questionnaire, that was drawn specifically for the present research. The results showed that the various specialities of teachers of music build their professional identity according to their background of study (conservatoires, Universities, Technological Institutes), their experience and the way that feels that they are evaluated by the stakeholders of educational process, and also by their himself. Keywords: professional identity, music teachers; professional satisfaction 1. Introduction Music is related to every facet of human life (Small, 1983). It is a beautiful mean for communication and for onent of thinking and behavior and so should be The music lesson was taught by unspecialized persons in Greek schools, before some years. In nowadays this lesson is taught by music teachers. This study has to do with the professional identity of the music teachers in Greece. Professional identity is the total amount of information that has to do with the person and his job (Sachs, * Reppa P. Glykeria. Tel.: +30 210 9222985 E-mail address: [email protected] Available online at www.sciencedirect.com © 2012 Published by Elsevier Ltd. Selection and/or peer review under responsibility of Prof. Dr. Hüseyin Uzunboylu

The Professional Identity of Primary and Secondary School Music Teachers in Greece

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Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences 46 ( 2012 ) 2611 – 2614

1877-0428 © 2012 Published by Elsevier Ltd. Selection and/or peer review under responsibility of Prof. Dr. Hüseyin Uzunboylu doi: 10.1016/j.sbspro.2012.05.533

WCES 2012

The professional identity of primary and secondary school music teachers in Greece

Reppa P.G. a *, Gournelou P. b aPhD canditate, Orlof, Athens, 11741,Greece

bMusic teachet, Agrinio, Greece

Abstract

The particular dissertation concerns the profile delineation of Primary and Secondary School Music Teachers in Greece, as well as the determination of their professional identity. The first part initially presents in a concise way the teaching profession and in particular the profession of the teacher of Music. Then, the meaning of professional identity is defined and various aspects of this identity are presented. Subsequently, the status of Music as a school subject is pointed out, as well as the prestige of the Music Teacher in general education schools and especially in Music Schools. Special mention is made to the institution of Music Schools. Among other things, the categories of Music teachers employed in Music Schools are recorded, as well as their occupational status quo, the specific problems which they face in education practice juxtaposed to the other Music Teachers of General Educational Schools. In the second part, the empirical research is presented in detail, which aims at the determination of

programs contribute to their further development, is followed by the opinions of Music Teachers-which were sought from questionnaires regarding the occupational status quo, and foremost the education process and the role of the subject of music in contemporary Greek education. The methodology of research is the quantitative mainly investigation and inquiring tool the questionnaire, that was drawn specifically for the present research. The results showed that the various specialities of teachers of music build their professional identity according to their background of study (conservatoires, Universities, Technological Institutes), their experience and the way that feels that they are evaluated by the stakeholders of educational process, and also by their himself.

12 Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Keywords: professional identity, music teachers; professional satisfaction

1. Introduction

Music is related to every facet of human life (Small, 1983). It is a beautiful mean for communication and for

onent of thinking and behavior and so should be

The music lesson was taught by unspecialized persons in Greek schools, before some years. In nowadays this lesson is taught by music teachers. This study has to do with the professional identity of the music teachers in Greece. Professional identity is the total amount of information that has to do with the person and his job (Sachs,

* Reppa P. Glykeria. Tel.: +30 210 9222985 E-mail address: [email protected]

Available online at www.sciencedirect.com

© 2012 Published by Elsevier Ltd. Selection and/or peer review under responsibility of Prof. Dr. Hüseyin Uzunboylu

2612 Reppa P.G. and Gournelou P. / Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences 46 ( 2012 ) 2611 – 2614

2001). According to Scorda (2010) the professional identity of educators is configured through the social-economic forces, trends and frames that are existed in the work environment.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the characteristics of the professional identity of music teachers in primary and secondary school in Greece. The research questions are: 1) which factors are responsible for the effectiveness of school education and how important these factors are for the professional identity of music teachers? 2) How can professional satisfaction contribute to the professional identity of music teachers? 3) What is the self-image of music teachers, as it is appeared through self-evaluation? 4) In which level the professional development is connected to professional identity?

2. Methodology

For the purpose of this study the mixed methodology was used as the questionnaire that the sample had to answer was included by open - ending and close - ending questions. The questionnaire was made for this study and it was based on bibliography and some questionnaires of ending questions were in five-point Likert scale. In the beginning were some questions for demographic characteristics (gender, age, studies etc), which were followed by questions that were separate in 4 groups: group A, with 6 questions for factors that are responsible for the effectiveness of school education; group B, with 7 axiological sentences related to the satisfaction that they gain from their job; group C included 18 questions related to the way the music teachers judge themselves as professionals; and group D with 6 factors that had to put in an order of importance for the professional development. Finally, there were 4 open-ending questions where the participants could develop their thoughts for: a) the difficulties that had dealt with, b) the satisfaction from their job, c) their opinion for the characterization of the

from the Paidagogical Institute was given. The participants answered the questions face to face, or by e-mail.

3. Results

The first research question refers to the degree of significant factors that are responsible for the quality of the ssional identity. The results showed that the 92.7% of the sample believe

that the teaching methods are a very important factor for the effectiveness of the teaching. The 90.9% of the sample aching effectiveness. Moreover, the 78.9% of the

aching and 82.7% believe

that the teaching methods, the substructures and the experience are the most importance factors for the teaching effectiveness.

The second research question was related to the amount of satisfaction that they were having of four characteristics of their job. The results showed that the 63.3% found themselves capable to deal with difficult that

or. The 69.3% believe that can co-operate with other colleagues for the preparation of a performance. The 65.7% believe that are very qualified for their job. The results showed that only, the 16.5% of the sample believe that the office can provide them opportunities for carrier development.

point Likert scale (strongly disagree strongly agree). The results showed that the 94.6% considered themselves as professionals. The 65.7% of the sample believe that they can overcome the difficulties of using new technologies. They enjoy their job (84.5%) and they have the ability to adapt to new circumstances (90.1%). The 68.2% of the sample believe that they are aware of the changes in their field and the 71.1% believe that their subject is creative. Moreover, only the 52.7% believe that their subject

2613 Reppa P.G. and Gournelou P. / Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences 46 ( 2012 ) 2611 – 2614

is thought as important of the administration of the school and the 54.6% state that they feel that they continuously have to approve the importance of their subject.

Following the music teachers had to put in order the most important factors that contribute for their professional development. The results showed that the most important factors are: the possibility of having initiative (14.5% first choice, 20.0% 2nd choice, 17.3% 3rd choice), the logistics (16.4% 1st choice,31.8% 2nd choice), the possibility of taking decisions (21.8% 2nd choice, 34.5% 3rd choice), the continuously training (35.5% 1st choice) the good collaboration with colleagues (28.2% 3rd choice).

Then, the open-ending questions part was followed. The first question was the difficulties that had faced to their job. The following table presents the results of the difficulties that the sample had to deal with.

Table 1 The difficulties

Difficulties Students

for the lesson

The opinion for the subject

The school curriculum and

the lack of targets

Logistics Difficulties with other

colleagues, the ministry and the

payments

Lack of understanding

% 18.5% 1.1% 6.5% 22.8% 45.7% 5.4% In the second question the participants had to refer when they feel satisfaction from their job. The results showed

that the 68% of the sample feel satisfaction when their job is recognized from students and parents.

hat this characterization is due to the wrong approach of the lesson by the teachers. The teaching of the music by people that are not qualified and the weakness of them to highlight the importance of the music lesson are responsible of this characterization. The 16.5% of the sample believe that this characterization is due to the wrong idea that parents have, due to their experiences in their school years.

4. Discussion

It is obvious that general results cannot be said but only small trends. According to bibliography the professional identity of teachers has to do with thoughts and beliefs that have been established through years and especially from

based on self-image, self-esteem, the satisfaction that someone gains from his/her job, and the beliefs that someone has for the effectiveness of his/her job.

As it concerns the effectiveness of the teaching the results of this study showed that the 3 most important factors that are responsible for the effectiveness are the teaching methods, the experience and the substructures. As Papanaoum (2003) refer the effectiveness of the teaching is not only based on the studies that someone has done but also the ability that has to adapt his/her teaching according to the circumstances, this ability is developed through experience. As Peraki (2008) mentions the experience and the teaching methods are developed and enriched through years and this has a major role for the professional identity for music teachers.

The satisfaction that teachers gain from their job and the belief of the effectiveness teaching are two factors that are correlated to the professional identity (Papanaoum, 2003). The results of this study showed that the music teachers are satisfied from their job when they are capable to deal with difficult behaviors by their students, can co-operate with their colleagues and have a strong belief that are qualified and are professionals.

For the professionalism the results showed that the music teachers are believe that they are professional when they can overcome difficulties using new technologies, can adapt their teaching to new circumstances, enjoy their teaching and they are aware of the changes in their field. As Maurogiorgos (1999) has mentioned the further study

2614 Reppa P.G. and Gournelou P. / Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences 46 ( 2012 ) 2611 – 2614

for the teachers is very important for their job as it can re-estimate the relationship between teacher and his/her job and this can affect their professional development.

The professional development for the music teachers, as it showed for this study, is also based on the possibility of taking the initiative, the logistics that are offered, the freedom of taking decisions, and the good collaboration with colleagues. Papanaoum (2005) mentionis very important for the students, parents and society and on the other hand they can not take their own decisions for their job. He/ she is under a system that more controls him/her than supports him/her.

As it is seems from the answers of open-ending questions the major difficulties that music teachers had found

music lesunderstand the importance of music lesson. Another difficulty that music teachers have to deal with is the logistics. There are not any music rooms so the music teachers have to carry the harmonium or the guitar in the classroom. Regarding some students behavior that has to do with the lack of interest of the lesson, this phenomenon might be because of the small amount of hours (one hour per week) that the lesson is taught. So it is very difficult for the teacher to point out the importance and the benefits of the lesson. Moreover the music is a subject that it is not being examined.

The professional self-image of the music teacher is based on the satisfaction that he/she gain from the job. This has to do with the moral satisfaction that a teacher gains by the students and the parents. The Hoy and Miskel (1990 in Papanoum 2003) define the professional satisfaction for teachers as the emotional situation (pleasant or unpleasant) that comes when a teacher is evaluating his/her work.

opinions. The positive opinion beliefs that this characterization is existed because of the pleasant time that children have when they sing. Papazaris (1999) mentions that the senses are valuable for human beings, and it is very important for students to have chances for developing their senses. The negative opinion for this characterization is based on the previous experience of the music lessons that parents had. Moreover it is a result of the wrong teaching that has been done so many years now from people that were not enough qualified.

This study showed only some opinion and some trends for the professional identity that music teachers have in Greek schools. There should be further studies in the field with bigger sample and maybe more factors.

Refere nces

Chrisostomou, S (2005). The music in education the dilemma of inters- science. Athens. Papagrigoriou Nakas. Maurogiorgos, G. (1999). Further education and further education politics in Greece. In Athanasoula Reppa A., Anthopoulou, S., Katsoulaki, S.

& Maurogiorgos, G. Administration of educational units (part 2). Patra. Papanaoum, Z (2003). The job of the educator. Athens: Dardanos. Papazaris, X.A. (1999). The music learning in education. Athens: Papazisis. Peraki, E. (2008). Planninga the music school lesson. Athens: Fagotto. Sachs, J. (2001). Teacher professional identity: competing discourses, competing outcomes. Journal of Education Policy, 16(2), 149 161 Skorda, E. (2010). Factors that modify the professional identity of teachers of secondary school: the effect of educational politic. Unpublished

master project, University of Thessaly. Small, C. (1983). Music society education, trans Grigoriou, M. Athens: Nefeli.